Halloween Fun

Lately, every Thursday night we have been getting together with a group of friends for dinner. We rotate house and food each week. This week it was Danny and Leigh's turn to host. It has been a blast hanging with each other, and we have started to become a group that does everything together. In lieu of Halloween, this week was dinner and pumpkin carving night.

My two closest girl friends in the area Leigh and Kristin.

We also had to make time for the FSU football game going on, as we had two big FSU fans in the house. Dinner was fabulous, our friend Danny smoked us some pork. It was amazing! We love our southern barbecue.

After dinner we got to work on carving our pumpkins.

The best part, not! No one likes cleaning out their pumpkins, but it is worth it in the end. Look at what hard work can turn into:

Our pumpkins now look great on the balcony all lit up, I love how I can see them all day. It definitely adds to the Halloween feel around the house.

Finding That Perfect One

On Monday night, Robert took me out on a fall date to pick out our pumpkins. HA! I wish it felt like fall, we are still in the high 80's, so even though it felt like summer, we tried to pretend. I miss the leaves changing and the temperatures cooling down, so I can crave those warm treats that come out this time of year. Knowing this, Robert tried to create a nice fall atmosphere for me by taking me out to a local pumpkin patch. I love going to pumpkin patches, even though these pumpkins had to be brought in from somewhere since FL's agriculture isn't really conducive to growing pumpkins.

Robert went for more of the bumpy look, so he could make his pumpkin look scary.

We had a fun evening picking out our pumpkins together.

It's important to pick out that perfect one, next step, carving them.

Happy Halloween!

The Boys of Fall

Besides studying, these boys stay busy playing fall flag football.

Team Huddle

Set hike!

It's a good day when you win.

Happy Birthday!

To Robert!

This past weekend we celebrated Robert's 24th birthday. We had to start early since his birthday actually falls on General Conference weekend, so we dragged it out as long as we could. (Click http://new.lds.org/general-conference/watch?lang=eng to find out more about or to watch General Conference and http://www.mormon.org to find out more about the LDS church).

To Start Off:

On Thursday night, we went out to dinner at Macaroni Grill with three other couples from Stetson. It was a blast and dinner was great. Not to mention when they brought out Robert's birthday treat, we were serenaded in Italian by our waiter. It got me excited for our trip to Italy next year. After dinner we headed back to our place for some ping pong, pool, presents, and cake. I made Robert a banana bread cake. I was sad I didn't take any pictures of our night out, so I have re-created it.

On Friday, Robert had the day off from his internship, so he went golfing with a buddy of his from school. That night we went out for ice cream (thanks to my sister and Ben for providing him with a gift card to his favorite ice cream place - Cold Stone Creamery) and a movie. We saw Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, which we highly recommend and enjoyed.

On Saturday, we rolled out of bed had some cinnamon rolls and hung around the house until General Conference started. In between sessions, we went out for some snow cones and played tennis. That night we stayed up watching the endings to the big college football games.

Sunday started out with a delicious breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. We watched some more General Conference and relaxed. It was such a great weekend, and it felt like it lasted for a long time. We both did not want to get up this morning and start our week again. I think Robert had a fabulous birthday and got completely spoiled, which is how it should be for such a great guy! I am so happy to have him in my life.

Some things you might not know about Robert:

His favorite candy bar is a Butterfinger.

He does not have any cousins.

He longs to throw a baseball around while in a china shop, so watch out!

His nickname in high school was Prep.

He loves animals and wants to own a dog, penguin, squirrel, and tiger.

He has a heart of a child.

He still flexes his muscles for me.

He has a Mickey Mouse shaped birth mark.

He loves to learn about gangs by watching Gangland on the History Channel.

BYU - FSU Game

On Saturday, we headed to Tallahassee for the BYU vs. FSU football game. We even met up with my brother in law, Ben, who drove down with some of his friends from Nashville, TN.

We got to hang out with Cosmo for a little bit before the game started. We also made a stop at the BYU tailgate where I got a free BYU logo sticker for our car.

We were joined at the game with some friends from law school, Kristin and John. It was John's lucky day as he is a big FSU fan.

BYU did not have a very good game. The first half was fun as we kept it a close game, but by the second half our defense was tired and what else can you do when you don't have an offense and it is sweltering outside.

Even though BYU lost 34-10 it was still a fun trip up to Tally. It was my first time there and I enjoyed getting to see another school's atmosphere. However, the drive back was long (it takes about 4 hours) and we were exhausted from sitting out in the sun all day! It was hot and humid - who schedules a 3:30 game in this heat? We made it home though and took a nap the next day.

Trip Highlights:

* Walking around the FSU stadium before the game started with Ben and Robert getting to see all the pre-game festivities.

* Snow cones during half time. It was so hot!

* Running into people we knew from BYU and from the Tampa area

* Greek Row!

* Stopping for a bite to eat at Subway on the way home.

* Having a dance party in the car.

* Watching a drunk kid fall down a hill and be taken around by his pants by a cop.

* The long ride home and trying to stay awake.

Update on Fountain Fun

It's time for an update! We have been busy lately with all sorts of activities. Here's what we have been up to:

Stand Up Paddle Boarding

I started a paddle boarding class three weeks ago (that's me in the middle). It has been going great. I love getting up early (class starts at 7 am) and watching the sun rise while out in the water on the beach. Best way to exercise! I have class two times a week. My class ends in two weeks and hopefully I will have enough diligence to still get myself up and continue to workout.

School - Round 2

Robert has started his second year at law school! This semester has been going well so far. He is going to stay busy this semester with all of his classes, internship at Minor League Baseball, being a Stetson Ambassador, intramurals, research assistant job, and more. He likes his classes so far. Robert enjoyed getting to select his classes this year, so he is able to take classes that interest him more and can prepare him for the type of law he wants to practice. He still has some classes that are requirements to take, but overall the class selection process is going well. He loves his baseball internship. It has allowed him to get to see a lot of the behind the scenes action that takes place when putting on professional baseball games. Also, it will hopefully provide him with a lot of contacts to important individuals in the baseball community.

Cruise

We booked a cruise! This time we are heading to...Europe! We can't wait. We really wanted to do some traveling before Robert gets out of law school and starts a "real" job, so we thought next summer would be perfect timing. We leave in May out of Barcelona, Spain where we will then go to Provence, France; Florence, Italy; Rome, Italy; Sicily; and end in Venice, Italy. From Venice, Robert and I wanted to travel up to Paris for a couple days before heading back home. We have always wanted to go to Europe, so we thought we would just do it! We are excited that we will be joined on our adventure by Jason (my brother) and Lori.

Labor Day Weekend

We had a busy Labor Day weekend, where we played hard - crashed - played again - and crashed. That's exactly how the weekend went. We kicked off the weekend by hosting a BBQ party for all the new LDS Stetson students. We have had 4 or so new couples move in, so we thought we would host a get together so we could get to know each other better. There were 6 couples in total with lots of kids included in the mix. We grilled hamburgers out in the pavilion while the kids played at the park. After dinner we all took a dip in the pool.

The following day, Robert and I decided after sleeping in that we should spend the day at Disney. An hour later we were at Animal Kingdom, where we spent about 5 hours there.

The coolest part was getting to watch this cute little 6 month old monkey interact with his mom and big daddy.

After Animal Kingdom, we headed to Magic Kingdom where we spent another 5 fun hours riding rides and having a good time. The next day, after church on Sunday, we took a marathon nap to recover from all the walking.

One of Robert's favorite rides at Disney is Buzz Lightyear. He beat me of course.

On Monday, we woke up early and headed out to our Stake Labor Day activity where we ate a delicious breakfast, played two games of softball, and a set of tennis with other fellow church members. Boy, were we wiped out, not to mention dripped with sweat. It was so humid! We came home showered and took a nice cat nap. Later that night we headed out to watch Toy Story 3 in 3D. We finally got around to watching it. We were happy our theatre brought it back for a limited time, so we could see it. We loved it. It was a great way to cap off what was a wonderful weekend!

Now back to work, church duties, and school.

The End of a Beginning

August marks our one year mark of living in Florida. I can't believe it has already been a year since we moved here. It is bittersweet because on the one hand I feel more comfortable now with the area I live in, the friends I have made, but I am super sad because this means my 3 year vacation is already one year down. I try not to think about when we will have to move out of our apartment. It has been awesome living here so far. I hope the next two years slow down and are better than the first. It's hard to believe Robert will be finished with school in two years and then another adventure will be awaiting us.

Recap of our first year in Florida:

* Robert started his first year of law school at Stetson University College of Law

~ I started my new position at work - working from home

* Attended lots of Stetson student socials, so we could meet new friends

~ Experienced what church is like in a small branch

* Learned the directions and hot spots of our new area (still a work in progress)

~ Went to Busch Gardens, Sea World, Disney World, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios

* Enjoyed our balcony view watching the dolphins, manatees, sting rays, birds, storms off the coast, boaters, beautiful sunsets, and night time views. This is my favorite place to read a book.

~ Enjoyed going to the Stetson Intramural softball games to watch Robert and hang out with friends.

* Played beach volleyball with friends from Stetson

~ Entertained lots of visitors: (Jenny & Tyler, Jason, Lori & family, Austin, Spencer & Hayley, Chris - Robert's dad, my dad & Kristi)

* Went to lots of Rays baseball games

~ Went to the Orlando Temple for the first time and I was able to see two friends get married there (Brett and Amy), as the Atlanta Temple is closed for remodeling.

* Went swimming year-round

~ Spent lots of time on the beach playing, strolling, exercising, and laying out.

* Watched the cruise boats sail out each week

~ Went to Ft. De Soto

* We took a boat ride out into the gulf on a friend's boat

~ Saw my first professional tennis event

* Played lots of golf

~ Enjoyed decorating a new place and much more

We definitely had a busy first year and enjoyed our new adventure. We are very happy that we picked to come to school here. Round two here we come!